Friday, April 13, 2012

I've
always appreciated what captures my attention and is different,
characterful, inspirational as well as a little unconventional. Those
are the qualities I search in blogs and the people who are behind them.
Because I constantly need to cultivate my knowledge, feed my curiosity
and satiate my hunger for novelty, I totally dislike being bored, not
challenged intellectually and anything that is déjà vu. If I don't get
entertained by the things I see or read, then I'll easily lose my interest
in them and will try to fullfill my cravings by searching elsewhere...

Ben Herrera's wonderfully exotic and captivating site is far from being insipid or ordinary and the same can be said about its buoyant author. As a matter of fact, both stand out of the crowd and have their own personality. That is the reason why I have been following What's Cooking Mexico? religiously for about 4 years and have not missed a single post since 2008.

This Mexico City native is passionate about food and his country's versatile cuisine. He knows how to fascinate you with his detailed and informative articles that combine history and anthopology, delightfully colorful pictures, traditional recipes and mouthwaterringly fresh, refined, spicy and vibrant dishes. A blog that deserves much recognition.

Being a big fan of Ben's extraordinary work, it is with much pleasure that I am hosting one of his posts today on Rosa's Yummy Yums. Thanks for having given me the opportunity to showcase your talents and to share your "Quesadilla" wisdom with my readers. That is so kind of you!

I’m almost
certain that the majority of people around the world who have internet access
and some kind of food curiosity know what a quesadilla is.

The word
quesadilla comes from the combination of the Spanish words queso (cheese) and tortilla, Mexican flat bread made with nixtamalized corn (if you’d like to know
more about this process please visit this link). The
quesadilla can contain different kinds of fillings other than cheese. In Mexico
the variety is endless. There are meat and vegetarian quesadillas. Some are
small and others so large that they can be considered a full meal. Some are
cooked on a griddle and some are deep fried until they’re crispy.

In those
parts of the world that have adopted the quesadilla, even more different
variations are prepared. For example, in the American Southwest, a quesadilla
is a very popular food made with flour tortillas and filled with cheese,
chicken, salsa and other ingredients.

However,
all quesadillas from all over the world have something in common. No matter
what kind of tortilla or filling is used to make them, they all have cheese.
All, that is, except Mexico City quesadillas. But didn’t the word quesadilla
mean tortilla AND cheese, you may ask? Yes, but in the valley of Mexico City
and surrounding areas your quesadillas may or may not come with cheese.

I love street
food and I find myself eating quesadillas, tlacoyos
or gorditas very often from vendors
that look like the lady from the picture above. For some reason only women sell
this kind of food and most of the time they cook them right in front of you
from fresh masa (corn dough). White and yellow corns are the most popular
varieties, but blue corn quesadillas are easy to find in the streets of the
city, too.

However, I
have to remember to order cheese with my quesadillas every time. This is the quesadilla paradox. Why is it
this way in Mexico City? Nobody seems to know, and the rest of the country (and
I’m pretty sure the world, too) finds it silly and makes fun of our way of
eating quesadillas.

Many people
argue that quesadillas without queso are only tacos. But chilangos (people from Mexico City) strongly defend their position
with arguments that this is the way quesadillas have been eaten since
pre-Columbian times when cattle, and therefore cheese, didn’t exist in the
Americas.

I’m not
going to defend either position. For me a quesadilla is more than cheese and a
tortilla. The filling and the sauce inside the quesadilla is really what makes
them so delicious. However, I’ll try to answer the question that is on
everyone’s mind: What makes Mexico City quesadillas different from tacos? The
answer, after some research that involved eating a lot of them on the streets
of the city, is not easy or clear, but this is how I would describe them:

A Mexico
City quesadilla is a paddy of corn masa
that is filled with different ingredients. The masa is ALWAYS fresh and it can be cooked on a griddle or deep
fried in vegetable oil.

If cooked
on a griddle the corn paddies are USUALLY oval and thin. The corn masa is cooked first and then filled and
folded with the ingredient of choice.

If deep
fried, the corn masa is filled with
the ingredient of choice and folded BEFORE going into the deep fryer.

In both
cases salsa is added at the end, usually by the customer. Other ingredients
such as chopped cactus paddies, onion, cilantro or cream may be added to the
quesadilla.

The list of
fillings is endless, but my personal favorites are: chicken, quelites (wild greens), mushrooms and
squash blossom. And here is where I finally come to the delicious part. The
following is my recipe to prepare a quesadilla (with cheese) with mushrooms and
squash blossom. It’s a very easy recipe, but what makes this quesadilla
delicious is fresh and quality ingredients.

Add squash blossom and season to taste. Stir for a couple of minutes
until the blossoms are cooked. They don’t take long so be very careful not to
overcook them.

On a griddle or comalover
low heat, heat up one tortilla. After
about 45 seconds turn it over and put some of the mushrooms and squash blossom
with a little bit of cheese.

Fold in half and heat each side for about two minutes.

Serve with salsa, avocado or any other topping of your choice.

¡Buen
provecho!

Bio:

Ben grew up
in a restaurant in Mexico City and also lived a big part
of his life in the United States. He is now back to his native country where he
writes and photographs his culinary adventures with Mexican food to share them
with the world.

Hi Rosa,This is what an authentic quesadilla should be like. I would love to try this. It looks so cheesy and delicious.Thanks for the lovely introduction to Ben. As always it's a visual treat to be on your blog. The food looks beautiful!!!

Hi, Ben. Thank you for this wonderful culinary trip to Mexico! I have greatly enjoyed the quesadilla lesson and am totally amazed by the blue corn quesadillas. I feel a bit less ignorant about the Mexican cuisine.Rosa, thank you for introducing Ben's blog. I feel I'm going to love it!

So glad to find this post! We get lots of squash blossoms here and I love quesadillas and all of Mexican cuisine, unfortunately lacking in Lebanon are the wonderful fresh corn tortillas that I can find in Texas!